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ORTHODOX THEOLOGY AND THE ECUMENICAL MOVEMENT bY ANTOINE KARTACHOFF When our Institute of Orthodox Theology in Paris was founded thirty years ago, its aims appeared to its founders quite simple and modest : to save as much as possible and to protect the existence of the Orthodox School of Theology, which had been totally abolished in Russia by the Communists. During the two hundred years of its history, this School had raised the theology of the Russian Church and of its clergy to a very high level, thus preparing it to encounter other confessions which had sound Schools of Theology of long standing. This encounter, which was quite unforeseen, took place in an atmo- sphere of universal interest in religion, soon after the first world war. The outcome was a new movement which was christened “the ecumenical movement .” Owing to external circumstances, our School of Theology in Paris was obliged to do something more than tackle the religious and national problem of safeguarding the Russian Theological School ; it associated itself with a new and wider movement of world Christianity, in which all the Churches met. In the first half of the 20th century the theology and the practice of the Church were suddenly confronted by an entirely new question : that of ecumenism. In the most conservative sphere of faith a new theological problem thrust itself to the fore-a problem which might be described as “revolutionary.” We regard this new force, with which world Christianity has become imbued, as a positive force for good. It saves Christianity from the reproach of stagnation and provincialism. All the Christian Churches, confessions and sects, which were slowly catching up on the problems of the 19th century, were tempted to rest on their oars after achieving this modest amount of modernisation and adaptation, which they thought was final. * * *

ORTHODOX THEOLOGY AND THE ECUMENICAL MOVEMENT

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ORTHODOX THEOLOGY AND THE ECUMENICAL MOVEMENT

bY

ANTOINE KARTACHOFF

When our Institute of Orthodox Theology in Paris was founded thirty years ago, its aims appeared to its founders quite simple and modest : to save as much as possible and to protect the existence of the Orthodox School of Theology, which had been totally abolished in Russia by the Communists.

During the two hundred years of its history, this School had raised the theology of the Russian Church and of its clergy to a very high level, thus preparing it to encounter other confessions which had sound Schools of Theology of long standing.

This encounter, which was quite unforeseen, took place in an atmo- sphere of universal interest in religion, soon after the first world war. The outcome was a new movement which was christened “the ecumenical movement .”

Owing to external circumstances, our School of Theology in Paris was obliged to do something more than tackle the religious and national problem of safeguarding the Russian Theological School ; it associated itself with a new and wider movement of world Christianity, in which all the Churches met.

In the first half of the 20th century the theology and the practice of the Church were suddenly confronted by an entirely new question : that of ecumenism. In the most conservative sphere of faith a new theological problem thrust itself to the fore-a problem which might be described as “revolutionary.”

We regard this new force, with which world Christianity has become imbued, as a positive force for good. It saves Christianity from the reproach of stagnation and provincialism. All the Christian Churches, confessions and sects, which were slowly catching up on the problems of the 19th century, were tempted to rest on their oars after achieving this modest amount of modernisation and adaptation, which they thought was final.

* * *

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But. . . something unexpected happened. The end of the 19th century was the end of the so-called “new age” in the history of mankind. Future historians may give this “new age” whatever name they wish. But we are bound to admit that a crisis has occurred in the world, and to separate the past from the present, which we may describe as “con- temporary times .”

Today, owing to the naive indulgence and hypnotic blindness of all the free nations, we are faced by the growing peril of world domination by an anti-Christian international dictatorship.

At this precarious moment in the history of humanity, the ecumenical movement (which until then had been merely struggling for existence) suddenly burst into life. As was only natural, it took hold first of all in the Protestant world, which was weakened the most owing to its countless divisions and its lack of a hierarchy. Having no canonical setting, the Protestant Church feels more deeply the desire and hope of Unity.

More unexpected is the participation in the ecumenical movement of several Orthodox Churches, especially of the Greek Church and of the Russian Church in Emigration, in a purely disinterested way without any desire to proselytise.

Although the Roman Church - which is the furthest removed from its Protestant brethren, who broke away from it long ago - refused in the beginning to have anything to do with ecumenism, certain theol- ogical groups and representatives of monastic orders within it have now the permission to follow the ecumenical movement with special attention, to discuss all its problems passionately, and to send observers to the most important ecumenicaI conferences.

In a word, the whole of Christendom has faced the problems raised by ecumenism, of its own accord and in a natural way. Those problems can no longer be evaded, by withdrawing behind the walls of an exclusive orthodoxy. The wheels of history never turn back.

In “the 20th century” there is no time for the obsolete political “wisdom” of “wait and see.” The terrible judgment of history is approaching with the speed of a comet. Unless all the Churches and all Christians wish to follow the example of the foolish virgins, they must immediately come to an agreement together and find some practical way to unite. How? And on what basis?

Divisions have been taking place for two thousand years. What can we do all at once ? Is it not a desperate utopia ? Yes, it is a utopia,

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if we consider this question from the wrong point of view and if we give the wrong answer. The sin of the rents in “the seamless robe of Christ,” the sin of the divisions within the Church, is so great that it is beyond the power of men to expiate it, and to heal the wounds which our separations and anathemas have inflicted on the Church.

We are strong enough to destroy the unity of the Church, but we are incapable of restoring it. We can only believe in it and pray for it.

If we regard this rapprochement as a pan-Christian duty, we cannot stop half-way. The 20th century is the hour of destiny, the eschatological age, and we cannot afford to stand still. Friendship must be fostered between the Churches and between Christians, and the Roman Catholic Church’s zeal for proselytism must lessen, or even be completely curbed. This does not mean being less zealous for the truth,’but it means rejecting totalitarian uniformity, and any over-hasty desire to unite.

* * * The historic Church is not yet something absolute. As members of

the Body of Christ, who was both God and Man, we men have in us something divine and also something limited and defective. Through the God-Man, God Himself descends to earth, humiliates Himself and unites mystically with the creation - limited, moral and defective. The whole body of the Church is woven from these diametrically opposing threads : the absolute and the relative.

By regarding everything in the Church as absolute, and eliminating everything relative and human, we are falling de facto into the Mono- physite heresy of the unique nature of the Church, considering it as if it were wholly divine and containing no human element.

Like its Head, the Church in history is incarnate and has incor- porated within itself all that was human - namely relative, limited, weak and defective. It is high time we gave up using the divine nature of the Church to cover up the sins and defects in Church life, when the time comes to reform them and make certain innovations. We have no right to reject such questions outright, when they present themselves, by referring to the impeccability of the Church’s divine nature. The Church has a kernel of infallibility and a foundation which is impeccable, but certain aspects of it are subject to sin. The historic Church is falling into monophysitism if it takes refuge, through fear of all these sinful qualities, behind the wall of its basic impeccability. The Church must

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realise that it is “diphysite” (dual in nature), it must be orthodox in the sense of Chalcedonian orthodoxy and not merely in words and on paper, but in action. It must have the courage to recognise its sins in history, its human weaknesses, the errors in its life and work, and must make an effort to correct them.

Yes, we must honestly recognise the faults of the Church and the weakness of its “relative” and human side. We must not accept them, we must correct them, not indeed by starting mutinies and “revolutions” of our own, but by following courses which are ecclesiastic and in line with the spirit of the Councils. All that is justified from the point of view of theology ; it is perfectly legal, normal and orthodox.

The Churches have a continual task to put their own house in order, and in this their good relations with their sister-Churches may help them to imitate one another’s virtues and to share one another’s heritage, without hostility.

* * *

In this way, if all the Churches cooperate to defend Christendom, as the soul of human creation, against the arrogant attacks of a-religious and atheist culture, when the right time comes their common spiritual heritage will strengthen the foundations of faith in God and in Christ in “this wicked and adulterous generation” (Mark 8 : 38). If Christians of all the different Churches take sincere action in this way, their over- anxious, naive desire to proselytise and their faith in Utopian church- unions will give place to a growing sense of the need for pan-Christian cooperation in defending the very essence of the Christian faith against the ever-growing power of the anti-religious Third International.

It is time the ecumenical movement freed itself from the dream of the first years, that it could bring about the actual external reunion of the Churches at one fell swoop. We must be clear-sighted and realistic. It is easier to destroy than to create.

Having lost its original unity, and having failed to take due account of the separatist tendencies of race, language, culture and nation, the Church in mediaeval and modern times has been faced by an almost insoluble problem : that of returning to the time when it was ecumenical. It is impossible to turn the clock back to those early days. History does not repeat itself. The past is dead ; we must accept a new concep- tion of the world and fill it with the ancient ideal of the Church. 3

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Today, when the different Christian Churches have been growing further apart for centuries, and their different forms have become crystallised, there is only one hope left: not to achieve uniformity, but gradually to approach one another by collaborating to spread the Christian message all over the world.

* * * The sorrow felt by the Protestant Churches when they heard the

resolutions of the Eastern Orthodox Churches at the Evanston Assembly is due to a misunderstanding. The Orthodox Church was simply express- ing its traditional conception. The Orthodox Church believes its own teaching and hierarchical structure to be based on an unshakable tradition, which has been transmitted from generation to generation since apostolic times. The Eastern Orthodox Church is sure of its ecclesiology ; it is convinced that its doctrine is sound. It takes part in the ecumenical movement, not because it seeks a fuller church life ; but because of its basic optimism. Realising its own fulness and the wealth of its own heritage - it would like to share them with its Western brethren who are seeking and who are not spiritually unsatisfied.

The Orthodox Church does not participate in ecumenical conferences merely out of courtesy. It is its response, its sincere echo, to a highly estimable and idealistic initiative on the part of the Protestant world. The Orthodox Church fully understands the Protestant Churches’ desire and enthusiasm for pan-Christian world unity.

This response is not a betrayal of the feeling of plenitude of dogma and canon, which is essential for the life of the Church. We do not defend either the tone or the letter of the resolution of our colleagues at Evanston, which can be replaced by more refined ideas or formulas ; but we agree with the basis of that resolution. We are surprised that it has evoked astonishment in wide Protestant circles. This shows that the Protestants have not definitely understood the ecclesiological attitude of Orthodoxy. We Orthodox are not “Roman” nor are we “anti- Roman.” We are merely “anti-papist .”

Our participation in ecumenical conferences is not passive and the initiative for it does not spring from the Protestant world. It is a logical outcome of the ecumenical activity undertaken from the very outset by our Institute of Theology: to maintain friendly contact with Roman Catholic, Protestant and Anglican theologians in peaceful discussions about questions of dogma and ecumenism.

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Our Institute is an expression of the value of the r6le of Orthodoxy as a link and as a neutral element. Today French Catholics and French Protestants sit round the same table for personal encounters and a simple exchange of opinion - impossible to imagine during the four hundred years that have elapsed since the Reformation.

Certain reservations must, however, be made. Even in our little group, it is not everyone who has the taste and the vocation for this ecumenical collaboration. But ever since the time of Saint Paul, the Church has recognised the spiritual fact of the diversity of gifts and services (I. Cor. 14). As a whole, however, the Orthodox Institute of Theology in Paris, as an institution under the supreme protection of the Ecumenical Patriarch, welcomes the ecumenical collaboration of the Christian Churches as a blessed gift bestowed upon the Christians of our time.